OUTCOMES LOGIC MODEL 

(OLMs)

I - HOW TO FILL OUT THE OLM

 

II - DIFFERENT USES

 

III - COMMON MISPERCEPTIONS

 

IV - COMMON PROBLEMS

 

V - EXAMPLES OF USAGE

 

VI - FEEDBACK FROM PROJECTS

Click here for a list of:
KEY TERMS FOR OLM

INTRODUCTION :

The OLM is a description of the project’s impact pathways, and a way to make a project’s theory of change (ToC) explicit. ToC describes how a project is expected to work: it is a description of the project’s activities, outputs, outcomes and impact, and their inter-relationships. Simply put: WHO are we contributing to change? WHY? And HOW will we do it?

In solid research for development projects and programmes, where all multi-discipline researchers, and all stakeholders should have a say in the interventions of the project and should also have a space to contribute with information (be it local, regional or global) to understand ‘what may work’ and ‘what may not work’, having an explicit ToC is a must.

As can be seen in the PIPA manual, the OLM is presented as a table with each line describing a potential impact pathway or statement of an outcome to be achieved. 

MAKING ToC EXPLICIT :

There are many ways in which a project can make their theory of change explicit, usually ‘models’, or ‘maps’ that show ‘chains’. Some of these models begin at the activity level: WHAT will this project do, which then, added to other activities, will ‘cause’ a result? (Important note: 'Activities' can be referred to by others as: interventions, actions, initiatives, etc. and sometimes even it includes outputs. 'Results' can also be know as goals, outcomes, impact, etc.) A project's ToC can be made explicit in an OLM. The main difference between an OLM and other ways of making outputs, is that the OLM is actor-based (i.e. it is based on a definition of outcomes as changes in groups of people).

BENEFITS OF ToC :

1. All participants of a project are on the same page, with articulated assumptions of what the project thinks it will do.
2. After the project is done, and explicit ToC can be the basis for evaluation: what did the project set out to do? How much of that was accomplished?
3. A well-articulated ToC can help quickly and easily communicate the ‘core logic’ of a project to its constituents, end users, and the world in general.

Further reading on ToC:

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/pdf/LMinstructions.pdf

http://www.theoryofchange.org/what-is-theory-of-change/

http://www.adb.org/publications/outcome-mapping

https://sites.google.com/a/cpwf.info/m-e-guide/home

Next page: i.     How to fill out OLMs